Crimson eyes and lofty goals
by JackTR
Summary: Rhevik is a pirate with a dark, hallowing past involving the Devil Fruits. He chronicles his path to the Straw Hat Pirates in this story. A new member adventure story with possible OCxRobin several chapters in. I don't own One Piece
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Red-Eyes Rhevik was thirsty. He knew his body would never be fully sated, but water wasn't the answer to the thirst he longed to fulfill. He thirsted for meaning, for purpose, and for a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel he had been trudging through for over a year now. Today marked the first anniversary of the day his life had been shattered – the day Rhevik truly began to thirst.

The young pirate ran his fingers under the white beanie that covered the top of his jet black hair, massaging his temples as he leaned against the stern of the ship. It belonged to his pirate captain, Kaidou – one of the Yonkou feared across the Grand Line as the four most potent pirates of the pirate era. Rhevik didn't particularly care for Kaidou, but he owed the captain his life. One of Kaidou's ships had rescued him from a sure death after being stranded on a barren, deserted island for nearly three months.

Rhevik no longer had any nakama to go back to, and returning to his fishing community in the West Blue was never a viable option in his eyes. Thus he worked tirelessly as a crew member for the following nine months, quickly rising up the ranks as a result of his focus and willpower... but of course, possessing the powers of a devil fruit didn't particularly hurt either.

And so the pirate whom thirsted had quickly accumulated a total bounty of 75 million beri. The sum was enough to earn him a place on the flagship only several days earlier, and this transition was enough for the young man to question the direction his life was taking.

"Shell-head! Get off your ass and report amidship! We're approaching an enemy and if things get ugly, you and the dead carcasses of the rest of you useless excuses for underlings could give us more time to counter them." 

The first mate had fondly called him by the nickname ever since the man had first caught sight of his white beanie. The man had taken a particular hatred in him, dishing extra cruelty out whenever possible.

But Rhevik didn't hate the man for that.

Rhevik despised the man for the way he abused his devil fruit power, throwing his weight around endlessly at the expense of others.

"Yeah yeah I'm going."

"I never said you could take your sweet old time, Shell-head! Haul ass and get over there!"

Rhevik rolled up the sleeves of his maroon crew shirt nearly up to his elbows and made his way amidship. He shoved his calloused hands into the pockets of his gray cargo pants, his brownish-tan boots leaving reverberating thumps as they resonated from the wooden frame. He was one of the last to reach the main deck as he ran a finger over his jet black soul patch in thought, coincidentally placing him near the captain as he came down the stairs from his quarters.

Kaidou let out a low, rumbling, ridiculing laugh as he recognized the ship's Jolly Roger. "HA AH HA AH HA! It's Red-Haired Shanks. What's he gonna do? He's no ally of Whitebeard, this doesn't concern him."

The first mate followed him and offered one of his usual boisterous remarks. "That one armed ginger freak is pathetic. Why should he care if we attack Whitebeard? That old man's death only means more power for both of our crews."

Rhevik whirled around at this comment, his eyes with pupils of midnight green wildly searching for any hint of a joke or lie on the man's face. He had always kept his head down, but he wasn't stupid enough to ignore news by word of mouth, and had earlier heard of Whitebeard's decision to war with the marines, with the intentions to free one of his fleet commanders: "Fire Fist" Ace. Helping marines take down one of the fellow Yonkou was preposterous!

"Kaidou! You fool, what is the meaning of this? Your plans could topple the delicate balance between powers in the Grand Line! This is more than just a game of 'who's the better pirate'!"

The captain turned his gaze towards Rhevik, with every sign of amusement at the pirate's comment. He didn't choose to do anything else as he knew his first mate would handle the situation.

His heart immediately begun to race, but Rhevik wasn't quick enough – within seconds he was on his knees, hopeless against the devil fruit powers of the first mate as he struggled against the agony coursing through his body.

"Heeyah-hah-ha! Shell-head looks like he wants to share his thoughts, along with a death wish it seems," shouted the first mate. He reveled in the pain he inflicted, a type of pain he hadn't caused since killing the pirate whom Rhevik was chosen to replace.

"Scum like you have no right to address Captain Kaidou, let alone challenge his decisions! But I must thank you, Shell-head. Since you arrived, I have longed for this as a wolf longs for flesh! DIE! Aheeyah-hah-ha!"

His muscles were corded and stalwart, his body tough and lean, and yet the young pirate had never endured pain like this before. It seemed to last for several minutes, then hours, perhaps even days. But as soon as it had began, the pain ceased.

As Rhevik fell to the deck, his senses quickly began to elude him. He no longer smelled the salty air of the sea, or tasted the metallic tang of blood in his mouth, or felt the sensation of millions of knives stabbing his nerves, or heard the maniacal laughs of Kaidou's first mate. But he was still achingly thirsty, and the last thing he thought was how fitting it was for death to come precisely one year later than the lone pirate had wished for.

The last image Rhevik saw was a man boarding the flagship – a flash of red highlighting his features – as he embraced the empty, desolate darkness of oblivion.

**I made the first mate's name and power vague to try to remain as canonically close as I can. More on Rhevik's abilities the next couple chapters, more on his past later on. Comment please! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Rhevik realized something was amiss as he became conscious of himself and began to open his eyes: he was still thirsty. Deathly so, if he might say.

"How could I feel thirst in the afterlife?" mused the pirate. But soon enough other sensations began to return, primarily feelings of sore muscles and rigid tendons and ligaments. Also realizing he was laying on his back, Rhevik groaned as he partially succeeded in turning his head towards a man chuckling at him, no more than ten feet away on a stool.

The man was plainly dressed, wearing simple attire of a man at sea, with blond dreadlocks and a matching goatee. But the more prominent features of the man included a large rifle which he leaned against his shoulder to the wall, and the letters Y-A-S-O-P-P tattooed on the upper arm encircling the rifle.

"Took a bit of a beating back there, kid" said the man. Rhevik hadn't seen his face on the flagship before, much less any star-studded cape, and realized he had no clue what was going on.

"What happened to me, and who are you?" he replied.

"Name's Yasopp," the man replied. "Like I said, you took a beating. You've been out for a quite some time now, but the doc patched you up right quick – Yonkou don't sail with just _any_ ol' doctor. Said those scars on your arms weren't from this incident either, so I'll guess you've tussled before."

Rhevik didn't bother taking a look at his arms – he knew the exact locations of the nine spiral scars climbing up his right hand, as well as the puncture holes embedded in his left forearm. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind...That memory was the last one he'd ever wish to recall.

"Yonkou? ...Kaidou. Why did he spare me?"

"Kaidou? Mwahaha! Like hell he spared you! He was gonna let that damn fool of a first mate take you out. My captain stepped in when he saw what was happening, and so here you are. Welcome to the ship of the Red Haired Pirates. What's your name, kid?"

Rhevik's mind was still groggy from being unconscious for so long, and yet it was whirring away, trying to take in all of this information from Yasopp.

"I'm Rhevik," he replied. "Were you here waiting for me to wake up?"

"Yeah, I offered to keep an eye on you when I saw you were just about the same age as my son. His name's Usopp, a sharpshooter like me! You from the East Blue, Rev?"

The young pirate shook his head. "Afraid not. I hail from West Blue, but there's nothing left for me to return to."

"Ah. Sounds just like Shanks himself. Let's get you up and moving around, we've almost reached Marineford."

Rhevik's mind was in the middle of processing this when his eyes came upon a barrel of water sitting in the opposite corner of the room. His deathly thirst remembered, Rhevik tore his bandages off in a mad dash for the water barrel.

He finished the barrel and let out a belch that seemed immense enough to rival the growl of a sea king. Yasopp raised an eyebrow, but Rhevik only shrugged. As of now he wasn't going to let his guard down, and his devil fruit ability's reliance on drinking vast amounts of water was the last thing he'd like to explain. The sharpshooter beckoned him out with a twitch of his head, and led Rhevik out of the infirmary.

They came onto what seemed like a main deck that looked fit for revelry, but sounded eerily silent as the crew members brooded silently in thought. Rhevik then remembered what Yasopp mentioned about Marineford, but didn't wish to speak up, for fear of breaking the stillness of the atmosphere.

The two climbed the steps from the main deck and came upon a graying man on the quarterdeck, his hair kept back in a pony tail. He was holding a rifle of his own in his sash, like one would do with a pistol, and smoking a cigarette. As he turned to address the two, Rhevik also noticed the large scar in the shape of an "X" present on the man's left temple.

Rhevik was about as tall as Yasopp, but this man was significantly taller, at least a head above both of them. He understood this man was no pushover as the tall pirate's eyes seemed to bore into Rhevik's very soul, not just sizing him up but seemingly sizing up his very worth as a man and pirate.

Yasopp went through introductions. "Rev, this is Benn Beckman, first mate of the Red Hair pirates. You could say he's the designated geezer of our pirate ship."

"It's actually Rhevik," the young man interjected as he went to shake Beckman's hand.

"A pleasure, Rhevik," stated the man as he sagely brushed off Yasopp's remark without a hint of annoyance or anger. "I apologize for the circumstances of our first meeting – this is nowhere near the usual state of our crew. I take it Yasopp filled you in on the situation."

After some idle chatting, Rhevik learned that Shanks had been able to "dissuade" Kaidou from pursuing Whitebeard any further and allowing Shanks to bring Rhevik aboard his own ship. Soon afterward, Yasopp walked off and Rhevik prepared to address the elephant on the ship – his presence.

"So why did Shanks save me? And why did he bring me here?"

"I take it our captain took necessary action against a man in the middle of killing a defenseless kid for no logically sound reason. If we left you, you wouldn't have survived. This was the only choice..."

"But that doesn't mean that you don't have a choice of your own," Beckman continued. "I know who you are, I know what you did and I know who you opposed to earn that 75 million beri bounty. Most others with your power wouldn't stop where you did and would garner at least twice that bounty. I could see that you're a good man, and the captain trusts my word. You may leave or stay as you see fit."

Rhevik hesitated at the point where Beckman mentioned his knowledge of the pirate's power. "So you already know that I'm a Devil Fruit user?"

"Yes. I knew your name was actually Rhevik, and I know you have a bounty under the nickname Red-Eyes Rhevik, despite the apparent lack of red pigment in your eyes. I know that you ate the Sheiku Sheiku no Mi, but I know not of any accounts describing the powers of the shake shake fruit."

At this point, a bellow of "LAAAAAAND HO!" reverberated along the deck as Yasopp sighted Marineford. Rhevik expected everyone to begin rushing about and causing a bit of chaos, but the crew kept itself calm and composed as they readied for battle.

Oddly enough, Red-Haired Shanks alone began to panic at the update, but calmed down after several minutes of work by Beckman and a particularly rotund fellow carrying a large hunk of meat in one hand.

Beckman came back over, and Rhevik expected the first mate to order the new member to prove his worth and use his Devil Fruit power in the oncoming battle. Instead, Beckman told him, "I spoke to the captain. Shanks wants you to stay here and guard the ship while we're gone. This is not your battle, you never intended on risking your life in this battle, and this is no time to display your skill with the shake shake fruit."

Rhevik had but no choice but to follow his orders and stay behind. He knew this could signal the change of an era, but he had no idea how immense the changes would be.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Rhevik was shocked when he discovered the Red-Haired Pirates came back without a scratch, and furthermore ended the war at Marineford.

But nothing could match the shock of learning that both Whitebeard and "Fire Fist" Ace had perished in the fight, with one of the Shichibukai defecting and mysteriously obtaining Whitebeard's Devil Fruit power as a complement to his own.

The crew was relatively silent for the journey to the island designated as the burial site for the Yonkou and his fleet commander son. Rhevik was able to fall in line and be accepted by the crew – apparently they really did trust Beckman's word. However, he almost go into a shuffle with the cook on multiple occasions, who had come to call him "that damn soul-patched water drain!" as he would constantly sneak down to the kitchen for whatever drink he could lay his hands on.

The funeral passed in relatively the same somber manner. After the final farewells were expressed, Rhevik put his beanie back over his hair and turned to leave with the rest of the Red-Haired Pirates, eager to get back to the ship and the kitchen's supply of fresh spring water. As he walked back to the ship, Rhevik noticed the captain was just ahead of him, and decided this was his chance to speak his mind.

"Shanks. I guess I still haven't been able to properly thank you for saving me. I truly appreciate it. But the real reason I'm here is to tell you that I want to accept Benn's invitation to join the Red-Haired Pirates."

The captain kept walking. Without turning his head, he replied, "And why is that?"

The statement caused Rhevik to pause before replying, as he hadn't expected this certain question.

"Without purpose, this journey will be no more fulfilling than any others you may have experienced before," Shanks continued. "Without knowing why you are a pirate, you will never truly live the life of a pirate. The New World is no place for people without purpose."

Rhevik knew the man was right. Shanks had already taken both Kaidou and Marine Headquarters to a ceasefire, but he hadn't seen past the man with striking red hair and only one arm until now.

Now he saw what made him a Yonkou and separated his power from that of others.

As they boarded their ship and set sail, Rhevik finally answered, "I know exactly why I became a pirate. My fishing community in the West Blue was occupied by a marine fleet when I was young. After five years, they left us with nothing but a barren, murky black lagoon. Without fish to eat or trade, we were forced to leave, and I spent the next ten years of my life traveling between islands, up until a handful of us from my old community stole a Marine ship and set sail for the Grand Line." Rhevik chose not to mention the fleet's purpose or their commander – that was a fight he would face on his own.

"I had vowed to take revenge by becoming a pirate and finding my place on the Grand Line to fight the marines. And yet as I sailed onto the Grand Line, life as I knew it was thrown upside down... I saw so many more Devil Fruit users, and how the fruits could give men with evil hearts the power to ruin the lives of hundreds. I saw how one of the cursed fruits could breed enough greed and jealousy to tear apart the bonds of friendship, with once-close nakama now going for each others' throats..."

He paused to let the memories fade back out of his mind before continuing. "My reason to be a pirate expanded and I found my dream. I've seen too many Devil Fruit users oppress the defenseless and leave nothing but destruction and despair behind them. My dream is to regulate all Devil Fruit users, both Pirate and Marine alike, and stop the magnitude of terror they spread.

Shanks gave away a hint of a smile and chuckled. "A lofty dream. Too lofty in fact. Especially for you, kid... That makes it perfect."

Shanks sauntered over to a space about twenty feet away from Rhevik and turned to face him, squaring off for a duel. "You have your reasons and you have your dream. Now you need a purpose, more meaning in your life – that's where we can help you. And if you cannot find these things, you will never be satisfied."

With the word "satisfied", Rhevik realized he was quite thirsty again, and proceeded to bolt to the nearest barrel and chug the entire thing. As he put the barrel down, he was met the astonished face of Shanks, mouth gaping and eyes bogglingly wide open in a frenzied expression of panic.

"AY-AAAH! THAT WAS FULL OF BOOZE! YOU JUST DRANK AN ENTIRE BARREL OF OUR BOOZE!"

"Ah. Um, whoops?" said Rhevik in an attempt at apologizing, but he immediately began to feel the effects of the alcohol and chose instead the comment on how remarkably well the cape of the captain seemed to billow behind him. For the next couple hours he helplessly went around over-complimenting people on their appearances and giving lavish accounts of thanks and appreciation in the form of singing.

Shanks enjoyed the drunken stupor so much that he completely forgot about the duel-to-be-fought between his laughs of "Dahahahahaha!", and the large majority of the crew decided to join in on the festivities as was their usual manner.

As the sun began to set, Rhevik had sobered up and most of the crew was out cold. He was sitting down and observing the other four people at his table, all but one passed out. With the last one in the process of joining his companions, he suddenly heard footsteps and turned around to see Benn Beckman approaching.

"Okay, you've had your fun now. Time to start working on the purpose and meaning the captain was mentioning earlier."

"Do you hold such a purpose or meaning yourself?"

"Of course. All of us do. Now, let us continue."

Rhevik understood this to mean that Beckman wanted to test his combat prowess, and followed him up to the quarterdeck, only pausing when the first mate stooped down to snatch the saber from the sash of a passed out Red-Haired Shanks on the way.

"I see you hold no weapon on you. For one reason or another I can guess you have not found the proper battle instrument yet to fit your personal preference." As always, Beckman's observation was spot on. "Do not worry. With practice, everyone can find a weapon that acts more as an extension of one's body rather than just a tool. A weapon should enhance your natural skills, not replace them."

Rhevik responded with a half smirk. "So far I've never needed a weapon in battle. The power of the Sheiku Sheiku no Mi allows me to vibrate parts of my body at astonishingly quick frequencies, from an entire limb all the way down to a molecular level."

"Heh. Soon it won't be enough. I only ask that you do not hold back so I can properly train you and hone your skills," said Beckman. "If you vow to train with me and persist with our duels, I can strengthen your prowess several times over. What say you, Red-Eyes Rhevik?"

"AYE! I VOW IT!"

Rhevik decided to give him all that he had. His heart started pulsing, then racing, and then pumping at unbelievable speeds as he deliberately caused the blood vessels of his heart to pump blood faster than what should be possible. He did the same with his muscles – as they vibrated more and more, the strain caused them to grow in size and stiffen, giving Rhevik plenty of extra strength as the lean, corded muscles turned into buff, ripped muscles.

His very skin turned crimson red, only a shade lighter than the maroon crew shirt he was currently rolling up nearly to his elbows. But what was even more noticeable were the smoky clouds of red that seemed to encircle his midnight green pupils, and envelop the whites of his eyes. And so Beckman saw why people called him Red-Eyes Rhevik.

Without a moment's notice, he was upon Beckman, legs alternately vibrating fast enough to grant him near-superhuman speed, and arms also alternately vibrating back and forth in a flurry of punches. This was the power of his "Hardline" ability.

The vibrations emanating from Rhevik's movement were constant "back and forth" motions, not vibrations in the usual sense when something rumbles around in random directions. He had learned to control his Devil Fruit well, as his leg and arm movements resembled high powered pistons more than anything else. His arm would jab out and retract at once for another punch, or his leg would dig into the ground and spring his body forward, only to be pulled forward again for the next step in his sprint.

Being attacked by a person cursed by the Sheiku Sheiku no Mi was akin to being caught in the undertow of an ocean – if you ever allowed the undercurrent to catch you, your fate would be sealed as you were pummeled into oblivion by the unrelenting waves of a remorseless sea.

And yet as quickly as he came at Beckman in his assault, Rhevik faced nothing but air, as the tall pirate had seemingly vanished in the blink of an eye it had taken Rhevik to go from a laid back stance to an offensive onslaught. In the corner of his vision, he noticed Beckman reappear ten feet to the left of Rhevik, pulling the trigger on his rifle before Rhevik's midnight green pupils could even swivel around to meet the stare of his charcoal black eyes.

Benn grinned as he realized how strikingly similar the tactics of this man were to the battle accounts of a certain Monkey D. Luffy, his flurry of punches mimicking Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Gatling, and Luffy's Gear Second mimicking Rhevik's Hardline ability.

Rhevik had to twist his body quickly to dodge the bullet that seemed to have predicted which way he initially dodged. As he regained his footing, he saw the small smile on Beckman's face and let out a crooked smile of his own.

"I see you're not making this easy on me."

"You'll receive no quarter from me," replied Beckman as he holstered his rifle, opting to draw his captain's saber. "Now, come! Strike me! Give it all you've got! FIGHT FOR YOUR DREAM!"

Rhevik lunged toward his crew mate with all of his might, and though he was as thirsty as ever, it surely didn't feel quite so unbearable anymore.

**The next chapter follows the timeskip so be prepared for new developments. Right now his fighting style mirrors Luffy's considerably, but I promise he develops his own unique style displayed in the next chapter :). Plenty more backstory will help explain Rhevik's background in later chapters, the most important of which being the mysterious event that occurred one year's time before Chapter 1. **

**Once I finish my finals this week I will do my utmost to continue uploading multiple updates per week over my winter break.**

**Comments always appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Rev! Come drink with us! We have to celebrate today for being almost but not quite halfway to Rockstar's half birthday!"

Rhevik couldn't help letting out a chuckle at Yasopp's antics, allowing a crooked grin out momentarily before politely declining and continuing onwards to the quarterdeck up near the ship's stern. It was that time of day for his duel with Benn Beckman, his mentor and closest companion on the ship. The ritual had been completed every day since he joined the Red-Haired Pirates almost two years ago, and he always looked forward to honing his combat skills.

Beckman was already there, patiently leaning against the railing. "So what will it be today?"

"Just some weapons work. Think I need to put my powers on the back burner until I'm satisfied with my footwork."

The two had worked tirelessly on harnessing Rhevik's powers of the Sheiku Sheiku no Mi, discovering new abilities and improving the ones he knew into being more efficient. But the biggest breakthrough came when Rhevik found a weapon that suited him perfectly – two different ones, in fact.

He began by picking up his naginata that lay next to his ever-present water barrel next to the stairs. The weapon had the long, rounded handle of a spear, but instead of just a metal point, a naginata is tipped with a thin, slightly curved blade that comprised about 1/3 of its total length. It could be used for slicing and slashing attacks just as well as for stabbing motions. The handle could block attacks outright while the blade could parry attacks away, allowing Rhevik to remain away from the opponent at a distance of his choosing, while he was still in range to strike.

Without another word, the duel commenced, with Beckman holding his signature rifle in his right hand and a poleaxe in his left. Both weapons were naturally two-handed weapons, but Beckman possessed both the strength and technique to dual wield them.

The most noticeable difference in Rhevik's fighting style over two years was his increase in speed. Rhevik could originally reach near-superhuman speed in his "Hardline" state, but now he easily achieved superhuman speed without even altering his heart thanks to Beckman's efforts in helping him unlock _Rokoshiki Soru_. His Shake Shake Devil Fruit allowed him to kick off the ground 25 times in the blink of an eye, more than twice that of most _Soru_ users and thus making him more than twice as quick.

After about thirty minutes of sparring, Rhevik backed off and put his naginata back in its usual place, satisfied with his performance. He was still no match for Beckman, but he had improved enough to match and eventually surpass the combat skills of Rockstar and some of the other Red-Haired Pirates. Now he reached into the pockets on the sides of his cargo pants, drawing out a pair of weapons that were unlike any other on the Grand Line or the four Blues.

The weapons looked like nothing more than a pair of black gloves with green-colored brass knuckles lining the outside, but they had taken over a year for Benn Beckman to develop and tailor specifically for the younger pirate. Just as the naginata was more of an extension of Rhevik's body, these were more of an extension of Rhevik's soul, allowing him to exert the full range of his Sheiku Sheiku no Mi abilities.

The outside of the gloves was laced with a special volcanic rock, by a process in which Beckman had liquefied the volcanic rock, allowed it to re-solidify into thin strands, and intertwined over leather to comprise the outer layer, allowing the gloves to withstand any amount of heat or friction without causing harm to Rhevik's hands.

When he clenched his hands into fists, brass knuckles slid down over his knuckles to the desired point of impact between his fists and his enemies... except Beckman had made the attachment out of _seastone_, the very same material which nullified the powers of devil fruit users. Thanks to the gloves, he didn't have to worry about the seastone affecting himself. With the fist weapons donned, once again he threw himself towards his mentor, who was now wielding two rifles with bayonet attachments.

Under the circumstances, a man using fist weapons is at a large disadvantage against an opponent with both a ranged attack and more than twice the reach for melee combat. However, Shanks had helped to erase the natural disadvantage of his fist weapons by teaching him _Kenbunshoku Haki_, a method in which Rhevik received premonitions about where and when his opponent would position his attacks. However, the two had worked on the technique for only about six months now, and so the young pirate still had room to harness the _Haki_; he employed it now against Beckman.

Their battle was shortened abruptly by a scream of what sounded like despair, and both recognized that the anguished voice belonged to none other than Shanks in one of his moments of panic.

"AAI-YAHHHH! NO MORE RUM LEFT? WHY IS RUM GONE! WE DIDN'T COOL DOWNTHE BOOZE, ALL OF OUR BARRELS ARE WARM! AAAIIIIIII!"

Rhevik grinned. "Looks like duty calls."

He put his weapons – dubbed the pirate dusters – back in his pockets and wiped off his forehead, a thin sheen of sweat clinging to his skin. He took off his jet black beanie, a replacement of the white one he boarded with so long ago, to shake out his hair and feel the full effect of the ocean's salty breeze on his face.

But the beanie wasn't the only thing to change color over the years... his short spiky hair was now a dark shade of crimson, very similar to the maroon color of his long sleeve crew shirt, rolled up nearly to his elbows as always.

Paired with the different hat and lack of red eyes whenever he wasn't fighting, he no longer looked like his bounty portrait from two years ago, and everyone outside of the Red-Haired pirates believed him to be no more than a harmless relative. This caused most to demand that he either deliver a message to him or reveal the location of his "relative" rather than take him seriously. Shanks and the crew constantly poked fun at him whenever this would happen.

"Hold on guys, let's not get ahead of ourselves. I'll just snap freeze the barrels." Rhevik paused to reassure the captain a little more, then walked over and placed each of his hands on a barrel.

"Sheiku Sheiku no Zero!"

Rhevik unleashed one of his newest abilities, in which he actually _stopped_ the vibration of the molecules on the surface of his skin, in this case only affecting his hands. Without any molecular motion or collisions, the lack of kinetic energy resulted in an absolute lack of heat production and caused his palms to snap freeze, reaching less than -400 degrees Fahrenheit.

He only held his power for less than a second, long enough to chill the beer without actually freezing it. He then quickly caused the very same molecules to once again vibrate and produce heat via kinetic energy to return his hands back to normal. Rhevik lost all movement whenever this ability was active, and it left him quite vulnerable, but it had its applications. In addition, if he ever tried to prolong the ability for more than three seconds, he would be left with what amounted to a massive brain freeze for the rest of the day and stiff joints for almost a week.

The crew roared with applause after Shanks tapped the keg and declared the beer to be cold. Soon enough, everybody returned to celebrating with merry piano music once again playing in the background.

"Dahahahaha! You saved the day Rhevik! Now come drink with us! Come onnnnnn! COME ONNNNN! Drink and party and sing and drink some more!"

"Haha. Sorry Shanks, but I have to go and finish my duel."

Rhevik had taken no more than three steps away from the revelry when he was suddenly mowed over and tackled to the deck by a blur of motion.

"WHOOOAAA HO NOW, no you're not! You gotta celebrate Rockstar's almost but not quite halfway half birthday! ...or is it the somewhat belated halfway point to the 3 month anniversary of my last birthday? Nah that's next week, 'cause I know it's after your less-than-a-week-til-two-year anniversary of joining the crew! Or is that what today's celebration is… Ahhhh, MAKES NO DIFFERENCE, COME ON, DAHAHA!"

And so Rhevik was literally dragged back across the deck to the party and handed a brew amid the cheers of his crew mates and shouts of "DRINK UP!" from Shanks.

"Jeez, for fuck's sake! You guys are the shittiest, lousiest, noisiest, laziest, most annoying... (pauses to take a sip of the brew)... NICEST, BEST DRESSED, FUNNEST, MOST UPSTANDING CREW A PIRATE COULD EVER HAVE!"

Indeed, almost two years aboard as a Red-Haired Pirate and Rhevik still couldn't hold his alcohol if his life depended on it.

The next day, a slightly hung over Shanks pulled Rhevik aside to the bow of the ship.

"You've been on my ship for two years, kid. I really do think you've found your purpose as a pirate, but you haven't gotten much closer to achieving your dream of regulating the Devil Fruits."

Rhevik knew he was right. Sure they had been the best years of his life, but the pirates hadn't even run into much trouble over the two year span – he was known as being a member of the Red-Haired Pirates now, but they hadn't even done anything to cause the marines to consider raising the 75 million beri bounty of Red-Eyes Rhevik.

"Do you remember Straw Hat Luffy? The kid who attempted to rescue his brother, Fire Fist Ace, that commander who died with Whitebeard at Marineford? He was last seen ringing the Ox Bell 16 times two years ago. He was... an old friend of mine. Benn's got a hunch, thinks he knows when Luffy's gonna reappear in less than a week. I trust his instincts, so I'm sending you in my place to see if he's right about this rendezvous. I want you to scout the place out, wait around for signs of him, and reveal yourself if he appears. If not, report back to us after a week."

Rhevik nodded. "I understand. When do I leave?"

"We dock at the next island tomorrow, and you are to leave from there. Give Luffy my regards."

As this was Rhevik's first real mission as a Red-Haired Pirate, he felt ready to carry out his captain's orders and begin his search once again to fulfill his dream... to satisfy the longing inside his very being.

And with the mere thought of the word "satisfy", Rhevik bolted in a mad dash towards the kitchen with the hopes of guzzling down a barrel or two of water.

**Next chapter finally introduces the Straw Hats! If you interested in the scientific explanation of his snap freeze, look up 'absolute zero' on Wikipedia; absolute zero is the coldest temperature possible to reach and would occur only when all of something's molecules stop moving. This chapter was kinda split in two but I hope I did enough on the two year timeskip. Comment please! :)**


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